North Korea still does not appear to have mastered missile re-entry technology and will take at least one or two more years to do so, although its ability to miniaturize a nuclear warhead is advancing quickly, South Korea’s vice defense minister said.
SEOUL/BEIJING (Reuters) – North Korea still does not appear to have mastered missile re-entry technology and will take at least one or two more years to do so, although its ability to miniaturize a nuclear warhead is advancing quickly, South Korea’s vice defense minister said.
Concern that North Korea is close to achieving its goal of putting the mainland United States within range of a nuclear weapon has underpinned a spike in tensions in recent months.
U. S. President Donald Trump warned at the weekend that the U. S. military was “locked and loaded” if North Korea acted unwisely, although top U. S. officials said there was no imminent risk of a nuclear war.
“Both the United States and South Korea do not believe North Korea has yet completely gained re-entry technology in material engineering terms, ” Vice Defence Minister Suh Choo-suk said in remarks televised on Sunday for a Korea Broadcasting System show.
“We don’t feel they’ve reached that point yet but it’s true they are approaching it. We can’t pinpoint the exact timing, but it will take at least one to two more years, ” he said.
Suh said North Korea was likely to continue provocations, including nuclear tests, but he did not see a big risk of the North engaging in actual military conflict.
U. S. Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo agreed that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was likely to continue to test his weapons.
“I am quite confident that he will continue to try to develop his missile program, so it wouldn’t surprise me if there was another missile test, ” Pompeo told “Fox News Sunday”.
